The Circle Never Ends
by UltimateGryffindork
Summary: A series of One-shots following the end of Shadow Wave. No particular order, all but the first are Shadow Wave compliant. Enjoy!
1. The New Recruits

OK, this is my first ever CHERUB fic, and I really hope that you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own CHERUB. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, what with it being a top secret society and everything...

* * *

Zara looked at the two scared, vulnerable children sitting in front of her. She really hated having to do this; having to tell them that all they had known was a lie. She looked over at her colleague for help, but he seemed to be holding back tears. She knew that she had to tell them somehow.

"This is CHERUB," she started, positively. "We are a unit of MI5, where all our agents are aged between 10 and 17. We work where adults would be no use; if a terrorist were to let anyone loose in their house, it would be their kids' friends. The criminals never suspect that, maybe, one of these kids has placed tracking devices on their car, and listening devices throughout the house, and has taken all the numbers from their address book. This is why kids come in useful; adults never suspect them.

"It wasn't long ago that no one had any idea what CHERUB stood for. However, a few years ago, Mr Adams here," she indicated to her colleague, who forced a smile, but his eyes remained filled with sadness, "discovered a briefcase belonging to our founder, Mr Charles Henderson. The briefcase contained a letter, referring to Espionage Research Unit B. After much investigation, we found that the history of Espionage Research Unit B correlated with the history of CHERUB – and, indeed, if you look at the initials of CHERUB, you can easily see that it stands for Charles Henderson's Espionage Research Unit B. Although… James wasn't the only one to make this joyous discovery. You see… his sister, Lauren was on that particular adventure – I shall call it that, as it wasn't authorised by anyone."

At this, one of the two children, the elder, about 11 years of age, spoke for only the second time since entering her office. "Mum was called Lauren," she said.

Zara nodded; hopefully, Gwen would work it out before she had to break the news to her – and she was not finished working things out…

"Mum's maiden name was Adams," she said. Then, she turned to Mr Adams. "Have you always worked here?" she asked him.

"Well… yes," James replied, shocked at the bluntness of the question.

"And this is top secret," Gwen continued. "So… that's why we never met you." Gwen's eyes filled with sadness. "I thought you looked familiar."

Zara was impressed – Gwen definitely had the makings of an agent.

"And that's why my middle name is James!" the younger, Greg, added.

James could not control it any more; he burst into tears, and flung his arms around the two children, who hugged him back.

"I miss your mum," he whispered. "She was the most precious thing in the world to me."

"We miss her too," Gwen sniffed, obviously near to tears. "But… I'm not cross at her for not telling us about you, or CHERUB, or anything, because she couldn't."

"Would you like James to show you round?" Zara said, tactfully. After all, she thought, this was an office, not a 'join me on the couch' show.

* * *

"So… what's your job here, Mr Adams?" Gwen asked. Greg had not said much – he was only eight, and although he was generally very loud and excitable, ever since their mum's death he had been shy and secretive.

"I started out teaching maths," Mr Adams said. "But I've just become a full mission controller. My wife is one of the karate instructors. Oh, and-" he paused, thinking to himself. "Most of the kids who I teach maths to call me Mr Adams, but the kids who I send on missions call me James. When we're as family, you can call me Uncle James, or just James. Obviously, if I have you for maths then you'll call me Mr Adams when we're doing work-related things, but just James usually."

James drove the golf buggy round to the dojo. "This is the dojo. It was a present from the Japanese a couple of years before I started, after an agent brought down an entire terrorist group, if I remember correctly. We'll just be going in here; I talked to Zara yesterday, Gwen, and she says that you will be taking the entrance exam tomorrow, but you still have to wear the orange T-shirt today."

"Don't I have to take an exam?" Greg asked.

"Oh, yes. But yours will be lots shorter than Gwen's, so you're taking yours this afternoon."

They entered the dojo, as an instructor, a Chinese woman of around James's age came up to them. "Hello, James," she smiled, before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and laughing when she saw Greg's screwed up face of disgust.

"This is Kerry, my wife," James introduced them. "You don't want to get on the wrong side of her," he whispered in an undertone.

Gwen and Greg giggled, as Kerry slapped James on the arm playfully. "But when we were kids, you only remembered that after you'd cheated on me…" she laughed. "Anyway… I don't know who these charming relatives of yours are. Am I going to be introduced?"

"This is Gwen and Greg. I'm sure you can work out which one's which."

"Gosh, your sister had sentimentality to rival Harry Potter's," Kerry said, smiling. James personally thought that this was a bit rich coming from Kerry, as she had insisted that all of their kids were to be named after their friends from their CHERUB days.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Greg asked.

"Well… Gwen is named after your grandmother, who died when your mother was nine, and Greg after your mother's ex, Greg Rathbone, known as Rat, who died in his final mission."

"I'd be rather worried if that wasn't his final mission," Gwen said, making them all laugh.

"We'd better be going, Kerry; some of the kids over there are getting rather violent. It's what happens when you get black-belt seven year olds."

They said goodbye to Kerry, and got back into the golf buggy.

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked, as James drove the buggy back towards the main building.

"I'm going to get my car, then go back to my house, and pick my kids up on the way. Zara said you two could stay at mine tonight, if you want."

Gwen and Greg both agreed enthusiastically to this, and they all signed out, before climbing into James' car, a practical Zafira. After about twenty minutes drive, they pulled up at a large house.

"Is this your house?" Greg asked.

"No," replied James. "My mate Kyle lives here; he works from home, so he looks after my kids when me and Kerry are both working, during the holidays, because usually they stay on campus, in the junior block. He doesn't have any kids, so he loves looking after them, although he's thinking of adoption. I've got to leave you two here, because you're wearing CHERUB uniform, but I'll only be a tick."

James rang the doorbell, and a tall, dark-haired man answered the door.

"Hi, Dan," James said. "I thought you were at work?"

"I took the day off; I had no meetings, so I thought I might as well," replied Dan. "How's the weapons business coming on?"

"It's good, getting better as I've just been promoted. Is Kyle in? I left the kids with him this morning, because Kerry had to go out too, to teach combat training."

"Yeah, he's in. Do you want to come in, have a cup of tea or something?"

"That would be lovely, but I've got my niece and nephew in the car and they're eager to get back. Ah, Kyle, my man, there you are!"

Kyle had just appeared at the door.

"Hey, James, we weren't expecting you back 'til this evening," he said. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks, Kyle." Usually, James and Kyle would talk about how James was getting on at work, but they could not with Dan around, who was still blissfully oblivious to his partner and friend's history as secret agents.

James was suddenly bowled over by three children, who came running at him out of nowhere.

"Daddy!" the elder of the trio cried.

"Hey, Brucey boy, how are you?" James laughed, hugging his son.

"Did Zara show you Auntie Lauren's kids?" he asked.

James steered his children in the direction of the car, aware that they were getting dangerously close to revealing something that they should not.

"Thanks a lot," he called back to Kyle, who had his arm round Dan's waist.

"Any time," Kyle called back, smiling.

James put up one of the boot seats in his car, and then strapped his twin daughters, Gabrielle and Amy in. He climbed into the driver's seat (after booting Greg out of it – it seems that all small boys around the world will always do this), and started the engine. He waved goodbye to Kyle, before heading off home.

The noise level in the car had increased drastically since three extra children had been added. Bruce was around the same age as Greg, so they were discussing things like Star Wars and football, which seemed to be universally appreciated by all boys. Gwen, like all girls, had gone all gooey over the little ones, making noises like 'whosa goochy goochy goo, den?'. James had resigned himself to accepting that all girls acted like this around small children ever since his second mission, aged twelve.

When they arrived at James' house, Bruce ran ahead and demanded the keys, while Gwen came up the drive, clutching Amy and Gabrielle's hands. They entered the house, and Bruce dragged Greg upstairs, which was soon followed by the sound every parent feared; the sound of Lego being tipped all over the floor. Gabrielle and Amy, who were not as small as Gwen wanted them to be, were showing off the various games consoles that littered the lounge floor. James was thankful for the distractions (although he knew that he would not be when it was he who had to tidy the Lego), and started to cook the only thing he knew how to; microwave meals. He pulled two large lasagnes out of the oven, and popped them in the oven, to warm up.

He sat back, reflecting. On second thoughts, he did know how to make something more than microwave meals; he still knew how to cook pigeons and squirrels, from his CHERUB days. Somehow, he did not think the kids would really appreciate that.

***

Four Months Later

James' eyes filled with tears that he tried his best to suppress, as he watched the newly qualified agents step towards the main building, all proudly bearing grey CHERUB t-shirts. Gwen had her arm in a sling, but was still grinning from ear to ear, as James and Greg pulled her into a big hug.

"Your mum would be so proud of you," James whispered, giving up on trying not to cry, but shooting warning glances at any young agents who might want to tell their friends about this.

"She is," Gwen answered, feeling the happiest she had been since before her mother's death.

* * *

Please review! Flames are fine, as long as you explain how I can improve...


	2. These Moments

**Author note:**

**I have had wonderful feedback from the first chapter; lots of brilliant reviews, mostly asking me to write more, and numerous story alerts. The previous 'chapter' was origanally written as a one-shot, so I have no interest in carrying on with the same story line. However, I have decided to carry on with a series of one-shots, which will mostly be in the same 'verse, so they will kind of fit together. I will also start replying to reviews more... I hope you enjoy!**

**UltimateGryffindork**

* * *

James straightened his tie, nervously checked he was stubble-free, and let out a deep breath.

_This is it,_ he told himself. _Don't make a fool of yourself. Although… it would help if she hurried up._

"Kerry?" he called towards the bathroom. "Are you OK? You're taking ages."

"Mascara doesn't apply itself, you know!" his long term girlfriend, Kerry Chang, snapped back at him.

_Great, _he thought to himself. _Just how you wanted to start this evening…_

"It's fine, take as long as you need," he replied, sweating under his cuffs.

The bathroom door opened, and out stepped Kerry, wearing a very glamorous emerald green cocktail dress.

"Wow…" James breathed, glad that, once his teenage years were over, he regained the ability to look at any female without his hormones going berserk. "You look… amazing."

"Thanks", Kerry replied, her tan skin blushing slightly. "Well… what's the occasion?"

She sighed at James' quizzical expression, laughing slightly. "You don't usually take me to the most expensive restaurant in town on a whim!"

"Oh," James replied, nervously. "I just… fancied taking you out."

_Well saved, Adams, _he thought to himself, leading Kerry out to the car, whilst fingering the ring box in his pocket.

* * *

The restaurant was unusually crowded for a weekday night, and James was glad that he had pre-booked a table; otherwise the night could have been over before it had begun.

The restaurant was the only Michelin starred one in the area, and although James didn't really see the point of paying loads of money for not much, he knew Kerry would appreciate it, even if he did end up buying a burger later. Yet even he had to admit that it smelt and looked wonderful; the artfully arranged garnishes and sauces just adding to the experience.

This was one of the many instances where James was thankful for his extensive language training whilst at CHERUB; even though he couldn't speak whatever the menu was written in very well, he know enough of European languages to make an educated guess at some of the more obvious dishes. He quickly identified 'steak', and even though he knew it wasn't really what you went to these places for, he reckoned he had earned it just for getting through the door. Even so, Kerry gave him a reproachful look when he ordered, before making a point of ordering something exotic that James had never heard of.

The time spent before the first course was delivered was spent with their usual conversation; discussing their days at work, laughing together at the latest office scandals, and discussing everything from the economy to their favourite soaps. Once the first course arrived, James was quick to dig into his steak. Kerry rolled her eyes, her mood somewhat softened since they had left their flat, and daintily started to eat what looked like a few leaves artily arranged around a few prawns. James was stuffing incredible amounts into his mouth at once, receiving disapproving glances from all the surrounding diners.

"James, did I tell you that Lauren rang?"

James struggled to swallow his huge mouthful, before giving up and just shaking his head.

"She wanted to tell you the news about her and Benjamin," Kerry said, suddenly very interested in a piece of lettuce.

James finally managed to swallow his mouthful of steak.

"What about them? She'd better not be pregnant, she's my baby sister! I'll-"

"They're engaged," Kerry interrupted, now a bright red.

James' brain started frantically trying to make sense of this new information, and how to react.

"That's great!" he said, feigning cheerfulness. "Um… Kerry, is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Kerry answered, perhaps a bit too quickly. "I'm happy for them."

But James couldn't help but figure out was wrong. He was a bit annoyed that Lauren had got engaged before he had, but there was nothing he could do about that now. It was Kerry's reaction that was bothering him. Was she jealous? Or was she afraid?

The rest of the main course passed in an awkward silence. It wasn't until the waiter had come and collected their plates that James finally plucked up the courage to do what he had come to do.

"Kerry," he started, his voice shaking slightly, reaching across the table to take her hand. "I… well, we've been together for over six years now, and I would really like to, well, I realised how much I…" he could feel himself panic – he was doing it all wrong!

"James?" Kerry prompted.

"Right, well, what I meant to say was-"

But he was cut off by a strong Australian twang from a few tables away.

"Well, if it isn't James Adams! Here with- oh. It's you."

James felt like his evening couldn't get any worse.

"Hullo, Dana," he said, feigning patience. "Fancy seeing you here! We were just leaving, actually… Such a shame…"

But Dana wasn't listening to him – instead, she was glaring at Kerry, who was glaring back.

"I can't believe you're still together," Dana said with disgust. "I never understand what she had that I didn't, James-"

"Really, we should get going-"James tried to say, attempting damage control before it got much worse.

"No, James, it's fine," Kerry said, in a deadly calm voice that was laced with venom. She turned to Dana. "James and I have been together for several years now, and we are going to stay like that. You lost the right to have a say in his life when you cheated on him-"

"Oh, like he never cheated on you?" Dana said, scornfully.

James winced as Kerry saw red, her eyes narrowing. She let out a primitive snarl before launching herself at Dana, clawing at Dana's face. But Dana used her build to her advantage, easily pushing aside Kerry's slight face. Once again, James reflected on something he had learned a long time ago; no matter how highly trained they are, when girls fight they always end up clawing at each other.

"Stop it!" he shouted, attempting to tear the two women apart. He hadn't got very far, though, before a waiter came and politely asked them to leave, after they had paid the bill, of course.

Kerry wasted no time at all, picking up her bag and flouncing out of the restaurant, leaving James to slap some notes onto the table and trying to avoid taking the same route as Dana out the door.

He ran to the car, parked a few streets away, before throwing himself into the driver's seat and grabbing Kerry's hand.

"Kerry, I'm so sorry," he started, but he was interrupted.

"No, it's my fault," Kerry sniffed, and he was shocked to see that she was crying. "I shouldn't have reacted like that… we've both grown up so much these past few years, and I thought I should have been able to handle it, but there is just something about her…"

"I know what you mean," James replied, nodding, before putting his arm around Kerry. "Maybe we should just go home? We could watch a film; snuggle on the sofa for a bit… maybe order in a pizza?"

Kerry giggled despite herself. "Do you ever think about anything that's not food?" she asked, a smile on her tear-stained face.

James laughed, before turning the key in the ignition and driving home.

* * *

It was the early hours of the morning, and James and Kerry were cuddling on the sofa, the ending credits of a film just starting, an empty pizza box on the floor. It was moments like these, James thought, that count the most; the moments when it was just the two of them, with no romantic gestures, or no making out; just the two of them, enjoying the other's company.

"James?" Kerry asked, craning her neck round so that she could see him.

"Hmm?"

"Well… in that restaurant earlier… what were you going to say to me? Before… well, yeah?"

James' heart sank. He'd completely forgotten about the ring, and his planned evening; the excitement at the restaurant had made sure of that.

"Well, I…" he struggled, trying to find the right words. He gave up, and lent forward, kissing Kerry's cheek, before taking the forgotten ring out of his pocket.

"Will you marry me?" he whispered, his voice trembling.

She turned round, and gave him the biggest grin he'd ever seen.

"Yes," she answered, gently kissing him. "Yes!" she said again, this time nearly shouting it. He took the ring out of the box and put it on her finger, before giving her a long passionate kiss.

And even though the rest of the night was spent sleeping on the sofa, and he woke up with a crick in his neck to the smell of stale pizza, it couldn't have been better. He and Kerry had each other, and that was all that mattered. Well, that and the fact that Kerry could beat Dana in a fight any day.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are like oxygen to me, so please leave some feedback!**

**UltimateGryffindork**


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